More and more people are seeking psychiatric services to help manage or solve issues ranging from stress at work or ongoing depression to anxiety disorders and substance abuse.

As the demand for psychiatric services continues to grow, so too will the need for qualified mental health technicians.

In fact, employment of mental health technicians - also known as psychiatric technicians or psychiatric aides - is expected to increase 15 percent from 2010 to 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS also notes that "there is likely to be an increase in the number of people with cognitive mental diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. Demand for psychiatric technicians and aides in residential facilities are expected to rise as a result."

Those hoping to become mental health technicians need postsecondary education and some degree of on-the-job training before they may start working without direct supervision.

Local community colleges, such as San Jacinto College, provide the education and training to pursue a career as a mental health technician. San Jacinto College's mental health services program is designed to train these technicians. The mental health technician training program prepares students to care for mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed individuals following physician's instructions and hospital procedures.

"Our program provides a one-year certificate that comprises 33 hours of courses and is intended to take a year to complete - fall, spring and summer. It encompasses eight courses that deal with the various elements and skills a mental health technicians will need," said Alfred Lara, director of San Jacinto College's mental health services program.

"These include abnormal psychology, assessment, group therapy, basic nursing skills and other relevant courses culminating to a capstone course of a practicum, where we send students into a psychiatric hospital setting for a semester to put into practice the concepts learned, and get training from experienced mental health technicians and counselors."

Lara said San Jacinto College also maintains partnerships with community centers and psychiatric hospitals that allow students to immerse themselves at their facilities and benefit from the additional practicum experience.

"Oftentimes, students are hired by these facilities at which they have completed their practicum, and this is the best source for them to be hired. For those not hired on at their practicum site, our practicum coordinator assists each graduate in finding proper placement for employment," Lara said.

The program equips students for employment as technicians in a range of human service facilities, including those seeking to become mental health technicians.

"The Human Service Technology Program offers classes in basic counseling, orientation to social services, counseling theories, family interventions, assessment, group counseling and co-occurring disorders," said Richard Rosing, a mental health associate for Human Service Technology at Houston Community College's Coleman College for Health Sciences. "The complete associate degree takes two years, with specialty areas being able to complete in either one semester or one year."